


Hunting isn't so bad

by freya_is_merlins_beard



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-14 13:54:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3413150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freya_is_merlins_beard/pseuds/freya_is_merlins_beard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Merlin go hunting. Tensions are running high and Merlin runs off. Arthur finds him having a bath in a pond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hunting isn't so bad

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little strange. I wrote this quite early in the morning, so it reads kind of like a dream. Sorry...

Merlin would not shut up. He had been complaining non-stop ever since they had left Camelot, and Arthur was sick of it.

"Merlin."

Merlin carried on grumbling, seeming not to have heard him.

" **Merlin**." Arthur used his best Prince voice.

"What?" Merlin frowned.

"Shut up."

Merlin gaped at him. "You _prat_! First you wake me up at the crack of dawn, then you drag me to this forest so that you can hunt, and now you're telling me that I'm not even allowed to talk! I'm sick of you and your stupid face!" He dropped the bags he was carrying on the ground, and ran off, leaving behind a very bewildered Arthur.

He looked around, wondering if there was anyone around who could explain to him what had just happened. There wasn't. He was completely alone.

"Great," he muttered. "What am I supposed to do now?"

****

"Oh, I give up!" Arthur exclaimed, throwing himself backwards to lie on some soft, springy moss. He had been looking for Merlin for at least five minutes already, and he was feeling horribly bored, and, although he would never admit it to himself, a little bit lonely.

He lay still, listening to the sounds that echoed through the forest. There was a splash, which sounded like it came from only a few hundred metres away. Arthur stood up. He knew it was unlikely that Merlin had made that noise, but it wasn't as if he would lose anything by checking.

Through the trees to his left, he could see what looked like a pond. It was a pond. Merlin was lying in it, submerged except for his head. The pond was steaming gently.

"Oh, hello, Arthur. I was just thinking about you."

"You- You were?" Arthur was finding it very difficult not to imagine what the rest of Merlin's body looked like; his face looked slightly pink and attractively sweaty. 

"Yes. It isn't an unusual occurrence."

"It- It's not?" Arthur swallowed, not sure where this conversation was going. Watching Merlin's ears turn bright pink with the heat of the water was very interesting, but probably wasn't helping him get his thoughts in order. He looked away from the distracting sight, and suddenly remembered what he should have been talking about. "Where have you been, Merlin?! I was looking for you!"

"I've been here."

"Well... Er... Yes. That makes sense..." Talking to Merlin meant looking at Merlin, which left Arthur feeling a bit light-headed and not at all in the right mood to tell his servant off.

"Would you like to join me? The water's a lovely temperature: I warmed it myself."

Arthur could feel his eyes double in size. His automatic response was ' _YES!_ ', but somehow he managed to squash that.

"What?! No! Absolutely not! Honestly, Merlin, are you out of your mind?! Of course not! Now, get out of there: we need to catch something and then we can go back to Camelot."

As Merlin stood up, Arthur realised his mistake. His eyes were fixed to Merlin's pink, glistening- He covered his eyes.

"No, wait, sit back down! You have ten minutes to get out and get dressed before I leave without you!"

He turned around and stomped dramatically off, but the effect was rather ruined when he tripped over a protruding root and had to hold onto a tree trunk to stop his face meeting with the ground.

****

Sitting alone on a cold rock was not nearly as much fun as he imagined lying in the steaming pond with Merlin would be, and Arthur had quickly begun to regret his decision. However, his pride kept him where he was, and didn't allow him to crawl all the way back to Merlin and beg to be allowed to join him, even though he desperately wanted to.

When he felt that ten minutes had elapsed, he returned to the pond to find Merlin still lying there, but this time his shoulders and chest were visible above the water.

"I thought you would be back." Merlin smiled invitingly.

Arthur knew he should protest and inform Merlin that he had only returned because the ten minutes were up. He didn't. Instead, he took off his boots, then his shirt and trousers. He could feel Merlin's eyes on him. He didn't look up from the ground and walked carefully to the pond. When he reached the edge, he looked up at Merlin and their eyes met.

He didn't remember moving, but suddenly he was sitting down in the water, with Merlin sitting in his lap and his tongue in his mouth. Arthur's hands came up to touch the body on top of his: one caressed the curve of Merlin's waist, while the other rested on his chest, feeling his heart beat erratically. Merlin shivered, and the pond grew warmer around them. When they pulled apart to breathe, Merlin shifted in Arthur's lap, which made his breath hitch.

"I came back to tell you that we need to leave." Arthur blurted out, not knowing what to say.

"I know." Merlin smiled wickedly. 

"But I wanted to join you."

"I'm very glad you did."

"So am I."

 


End file.
